


Anger is an Energy

by nostalgia



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Coping Mechanisms, Doctor/Master - Freeform, F/M, Gallifrey-Related Woes, Heterosexual Sex, Past Slash I Suppose, Whatever The Timeless Child Is About, hurt but not much comfort, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:41:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22141942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nostalgia/pseuds/nostalgia
Summary: Of course she's angry, he knew she would be.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 169





	Anger is an Energy

It's just after midnight when he hears the four knocks on the door. He takes a breath and stands, carefully placing his glass of brandy on the table by the armchair. He is calm, unsurprised, certain that it'll be her. So now she knows. They have a lot to talk about.

He stops at the door, takes a moment to bring himself to his full height and to slow down his heartbeats to a less embarrassing speed. The Master has practised this moment in his head a thousand times and he still doesn't know what to say to her. Maybe it'll come to him when he opens the door.

Her fist meets his chin and he takes a shaky step back as she pushes past him into the room. Of course she's angry, he knew she would be. If she wants to hurt him then he doesn't mind – he deserves it, they all do.

But no, she hovers a few feet away and doesn't strike again. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. She flexes her hands. “I need...” She stills. Shakes her head. “I just...” 

He's genuinely surprised when she steps forwards and kisses him, but maybe he shouldn't be. He knows her better than anyone else, after all. He doesn't stop her, if this is what the Doctor needs then this is what she needs. 

He moves his mouth to her throat, pressing his lips against her pulses as she leans her head helpfully to the side. “Doctor -” he begins.

She cuts him off, twisting and tugging until their mouths are together again. “Don't say anything,” she says. “Not a word.”

So he doesn't.

-

Even with them both in new bodies the game is familiar. Sex isn't something the Time Lords considered important, which is why they've done this so many times before. In a moment he's lying on his back and a moment later she's atop him, panting.

They negotiate their way out of their clothes (too many, too slow) and he brushes his mind against hers only to find that the shutters are down and her thoughts are sealed from him. No talking, no thinking. Fine, it's not a problem.

She's still angry. It isn't on her face but it's in the nip of her teeth and the scratch of her nails across his back. He wonders if she'll manage to draw blood. 

She gasps. She moans. She never says a word.

\- 

When he gets out of the shower he finds her fully clothed on the edge of the bed, frowning at the television on the wall as she flicks from one channel to the next. He dresses in silence, waiting for her speak first.

“I'm sorry,” she says, as he pulls a clean t-shirt over his head. 

“For what?” he asks, because it could be almost anything. They've hurt each other a lot over the millenia.

“Everything.” 

He shrugs and picks up a shirt (he's so cold these days and he doesn't know why). “Apology accepted.”

The Doctor stands up and clears her throat, ready to run. “The TARDIS is double-parked,” she says, which is the weakest lie the Master has heard in several centuries. He waits.

“Come with me,” she says, and it hurts that she obviously doesn't mean it. 

So he forces his lips into a smile. “I already did.”

She exhales, something like a laugh. “See you around, then.”

“Naturally.”

“We'll talk next time,” she says, very unconvincingly for such an accomplished liar.

He nods. “Next time.”

The Doctor backs away, turns towards the door with undue haste. He waits for her to turn back, to stop with her hand on the door and hesitate. 

She doesn't.


End file.
